NYCC: Daniel Way Talks About "Deadpool," "Secret Invasion"

The Skrulls have seen some horrific things, from Galactus devouring their home world to years later witnessing the forces of the Annihilation Wave decimate much of the Skrull Empire. But this September, they'll know true horror when they run afoul of an unkillable man who just won't shut up! God help the Marvel Universe, because Deadpool AKA Wade Wilson, the Merc with a Mouth, is back in a new ongoing series and he's going to play a key role "Secret Invasion." CBR News spoke with writer Daniel Way about his plans for "Deadpool."

Readers of Way's other ongoing title, "Wolverine: Origins," are currently getting a preview of his plans for "Deadpool." In the series current arc, "The Deep End," Wade Wilson and Wolverine are slugging it out on the streets of San Francisco. "The Deep End" and the new "Deadpool" ongoing were born out of a talk between Way and his editor Axel Alonso. The two were looking for a way to bring some much needed levity to "Wolverine: Origins" and talking about what Way's next project would be. Deadpool proved to be an answer to both those questions. "I like the conflict inside Deadpool," Way told CBR News. "He's crazy and manic but he knows that he's crazy. He knows he's starring in a comic book and I think that's extremely unique.

"There's also a certain amount of tragedy to the character that I like," Way continued. "He's the clown with the painted on smile but at the same time he's so frighteningly capable as an assassin and a mercenary that it's hard to pity him. He's unquantifiable in many ways and that's what I like about him. He's extremely flawed but almost perfect."

Way sees Deadpool as someone who lives perpetually in the moment with no thought of the past or future. "I think he does it out of a sense of self preservation. Because if he were to relax and look at his path, it wouldn't lead just to zany madness, but full on dementia and a complete withdrawal into his own mind," Way explained. "He's blessed and cursed at the same time. He's got this healing ability but it's also eating him alive. He can do all these bad ass tricks but underneath that mask is this horribly grotesque looking man who'll never get the chicks. And he's regarded as this bad guy.

"So he's all about validation in a lot of ways," Way said. "He wants to be involved. He wants people to interact with him and the best way he's found to do that, is to offer his services. He gets people to want him because he can't stand being ignored. That would be the ultimate hell for Wade Wilson; he won't be ignored, and being alone would be the worst."

In "The Deep End," readers are getting a sense of just how Deadpool sees himself and the world around him through Way's use of various storytelling techniques including multiple perspectives and "Pool-O-Vision," where the reader see things through Deadpool's eyes. "I always present two or three different points of view. Deadpool talks to himself and it isn't a one sided conversation. He also talks to the narrator who is often himself. Than he does that thing where he breaks the fourth wall but I try to keep that to a minimum.

"And 'Pool-O-Vision' is here to stay as long as I'm writing him," Way continued. "I think it adds a lot to the visual storytelling if we get to see things through his eyes. It can be hard to pull off because it has to be from his point of view and sometimes you want to show how he sees himself. That's one of those moments you have to cover in real time. In "The Deep End" we show that when Deadpool gets a look at himself he doesn't like what he sees because that's not what he envisioned. So when we're in 'Pool-O-Vision' he's always looking outward never inward."

Deadpool's unique perspective on the world also extends to his problem solving skills. "Axel and I keep saying, ‘Madness is his method.' First we'll come up with something simple for him to do like hammering a nail through a board and than we'll work backwards to complicate it," Way explained. "In ‘The Deep End' he spent a ton of money on this device he used to tie Wolverine to a cable car and drag him through town. All it did was get Wolverine to point B. But it looked cool. It took a lot of planning and Deadpool does what he does through some planning and a lot of ad lib. He sees the ‘hidden path' and has a lot of style and panache. He's kind of like Bullseye in that way but Bullseye is venomous and mean and Deadpool doesn't have that cruelty in him. He's anything but that."

Deadpool's state of perpetually living in the moment means he'll be using his "madness methods" to accomplish his most immediate desires; the Merc with a Mouth isn't one to harbor long term goals. "When I first sat down to think my way through the character I thought, ‘Where does he want to go?' But the thing is he doesn't want to go anywhere. He just doesn't want to stand still," Way remarked. "So he'll keep going in this crazy cycle. It's not his life's goal to settle down and work out of an agency in an office. That's something he'd do to appease other people, so he'd be accepted and part of something. But it's never going to last because he's crazy."

Deadpool may be crazy and without a long term goal, but that doesn't mean he's not going places or meeting people. Way plans for Wade Wilson to eventually run into some of his old friends. "What I'd like to do is have Deadpool get caught up in the most impossible situation, even for him. Than right at that killer moment, Bob, Agent of Hydra shows up," Way said. "You'll see people like Bob at the right moment. You've got to make him count because Fabian Nicieza [the writer of "Cable &Deadpool" and creator of Bob] put a lot of work into him. You can't just have him moping around saying, ‘What are we going to do today Deadpool?' That's a bit disrespectful to Fabian."

"And it's not just Bob, I love the interaction between Deadpool and other characters as well," Way said. "Characters like Taskmaster and Siryn. They're cool characters but they don't have high enough profiles to make a story arc. So you've got to bring in someone else as well, someone with a higher profile. You've got to anchor it to something else. That way we can have our cake and eat it too."

By combining elements of Deadpool's past with some of the larger elements of the present day Marvel Universe, Way is hoping to make "Deadpool" a series that both satisfies old fans and creates new ones. "Deadpool has been around since the 90's but there have been a lot of starts and stops in his publishing career. Right now the market is pretty damn tough, so me and Axel have been busting our butts to get as many tools in our toolboxes to make this as successful a book as possible," Way stated. "We're not only getting involved with ‘Secret Invasion' but Deadpool plays a key part in the story. There's a major player who shows up in Deadpool that plays a huge role both in ‘Secret Invasion' and its aftermath."

The tag line of "Secret Invasion" is, "Who do you Trust?" and with September's "Deadpool" #1, readers will definitely be wondering if they should trust Mr. Wilson. "In this first issue we'll see Deadpool kick the living shit out of a whole squadron of Skrulls," Way explained. "He actually succeeds in bringing a Skrull ship down to Earth and than wastes everybody inside it. Than at the moment where it makes absolutely no sense to do so, he hands his guns over and surrenders. Has Deadpool betrayed the human race?"

Way's opening three part "Deadpool" story is full of twists and turns but he couldn't provide many more details without spoiling things. He could reveal however, that the story would have a huge impact on not just Deadpool, but the entire Marvel Universe.

Tone-wise, the opening arc of "Deadpool" and its subsequent stories will be a heady mix of both humor and drama. "We'll ping-pong back and forth between the comic and the tragic so it doesn't become too staid in either playground," Way said. "It's high action, high comedy; it's a big fucking blow out."

Paco Medina is the artist tasked with bringing to life all the combat and comedy in "Deadpool." "I think Paco brings a lot to the page with both the over the top action stuff and the comedy," Way remarked. "I've already seen that he can pull off those moments. When it comes to hammering home a joke, there's definitely no flies on Paco Medina."

"I'm a huge fan of Deadpool and so are Axel and Paco. We definitely want this book to succeed," Way said. "With the artist, the story we have planned, and the Invasion backdrop I think it's a great time to be a Deadpool fan. And my mission this summer is to do as many shows I can, to let fans know that everybody involved wants this book to succeed. We know what we're doing. We're not going to cannibalize the character. We want to stiffen him up and go for a good long while."

Way's next appearance on his "Deadpool" tour will take him to the Cape 4 celebration in Dallas Texas on Free Comic Book Day, May 3rd.